Cook | Eat | Repeat

27 January 201927 January 2019

Jerk Chicken

What better weather than rain and 3°C to make a braai (barbecue)? For me there is no “braai season”. If you want to cook or eat something, so do it.

Lately, one of my favorite recipes to cook on a fire is Jerk Chicken. I tried it in Japan, quite far from its origins: Jamaica. I am still trying to reproduce the flavor of the one I had in Japan, but I got to a recipe that makes me happy with the result. So it is not the traditional recipe but the way I make it. If anyone knows the traditional recipe, I would love to try it out.

You can do this recipe in the oven, but it is better if it gets some smoke using for example some charcoal. But the best stays cooking it in a smoker, sadly I do not have one.

I like to use some Java long black pepper because it has a flavor that goes perfect with all the rest of spices. But black pepper works great too.It uses a little bit of chili (I do without the seeds), but you can of course spice it up by adding the seeds or more chili. I prefer just using some papaya hot sauce when eating it, so everybody can have it as spicy as they want.

One thing that you can also do is to make more marinade, and reserve the additional portion to heat it up in a pan with some ketchup. You can then use it as dipping sauce or even to glaze the chicken.

Ingredients for 8 legs:

8 chicken legs

1 teaspoon of black pepper ( or Java long black pepper if you manage to find some)

1 teaspoon of brown sugar

2,5 teaspoons of All spice

1 teaspoon of salt

1 lime (juice and zest)

1.5 teaspoon of cinnamon

2 teaspoon of grated ginger

1 teaspoon of nutmeg

1 teaspoon of thyme

3 garlic cloves

1 onion

1 tablespoon of vinegar

2 bird chili

1 tablespoon of oil

If you have a blender, just mix all the ingredients except the legs. Otherwise use a pestle and mortar to mash all the ingredients and mix them all.

Marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours but overnight would be better.

If you are cooking it on a braai or barbecue, you should use some medium-high heat so it can cook all the way through, and if you can close it and smoke it it would be perfect. If you are doing it in the oven, cook at 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (355°F) with the fan.